


kisses of fire

by saradathesalad



Series: salad's prompted works [3]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:08:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28488066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saradathesalad/pseuds/saradathesalad
Summary: Ed struggles with the Xingese heat.
Relationships: Edward Elric/Ling Yao
Series: salad's prompted works [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2101170
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47
Collections: FMA Secret Santa 2020





	kisses of fire

**Author's Note:**

> For the FMA Secret Santa over on tumblr.
> 
> Title is from ABBA's song 'Kisses of Fire'

The problem with dating the emperor of Xing is that you have to live in Xing, one of the hottest places on the planet. Sure, there were a bunch of other problems like assassination attempts, political sabotage, the occasional kidnapping, the general lack of privacy, the list goes on. But, for someone who had grown up in a small town where the temperatures never exceeded a pleasantly warm summer day, Edward Elric considered the heat to be his greatest adversary in dating Ling.

Some days he really wished he hadn’t given up his alchemy, if only so he could make and activate a cooling array. He certainly knew how to make them, and he had designed quite a few, but he had no way to activate them. Mei, the only Xingese alchemist (she’d convinced Al to teach her alchemy in exchange for teaching him alkahestry) that came by the Imperial Palace refused to help activate them. Something about self-reliance. 

“Are you moping about the heat again?” Ed jumped, he hadn’t noticed the arrival of Ling, he had been too busy moping about the heat.

“No,” Ed lied. Ling already spent so much time making fun of him for his lack of heat tolerance, and he didn’t need to be teased right now, on the hottest day he’d ever experienced in Xing, or anywhere really. 

“Sure you weren’t,” Ling said as he moved to stand in front of Ed, his tone implying that he believed Ed’s words not at all. “Then I suppose you won’t mind if I do this!” 

Ling darted forward and wrapped his arms around Ed, which Ed would normally appreciate. But Ling clung to him like a limpet, generating far too much body heat for Ed to handle.

“Get off! You were right, I was moping about the heat. You’re not helping!” Ed exclaimed, hoping his admittance of guilt would get his boyfriend to remove himself. 

Ling, if anything, clung tighter to Ed, tucking his head into Ed’s shoulder and pulling himself as close as he could to Ed’s body. Ed sighed. He supposed there was no getting rid of Ling now, he might as well enjoy his presence. Ed wrapped his arms around Ling’s waist.

“Let me tell you a secret,” Ling said softly, head tucked against Ed’s shoulder, “I’m way too hot as well. These robes are so heavy.”

Ed took a moment to process the words that had just left Ling’s mouth. “You mean, you’ve been hot this whole time as well?” he asked, feeling slightly irritated. His boyfriend had been making fun of him for being too hot all the time when he felt the same? Before he could say anything else, Ling beat him to the punch.

“No, just today. It’s very, very hot today. But not to worry, even though the heat doesn’t affect me like it does you, I have been benevolent enough to have created a solution! I was intending to show you on our anniversary, but today’s heat has convinced me that you might need it now. Come, come, follow me,” Ling said cheerfully, pulling away from Ed and grabbing his hand.

Ed was used to being dragged around by Ling by now, it was his boyfriend’s preferred mode of travel. That didn’t mean he liked being seen like this by everyone in the palace. Mei would always make fun of him whenever she was around. So did Lan Fan when they spoke, however subtle the teasing was.

Ed’s friends, no matter where they were from, seemed to take great pleasure in making fun of him. He probably deserved it. Probably. 

Ling didn’t drag him far from their rooms, in fact the door Ed was brought before was still in their wing of the palace. How had Ling managed to do something so close to where Ed spent most of his days without Ed’s notice? 

Ling sent him a cheerful grin, in a response to his confused look, and pushed the doors open to reveal… a bath?

The room was an average size and was, as most rooms in the Imperial Palace, beautifully decorated. Like the other bathing rooms Ed had seen in Xing, the floor was stone, and the bath itself was sunk into the stone. However, this bath was a lot deeper, and a lot bigger. It was like one of those swimming pools he’d seen occasionally in Central. 

“What do you think?” Ling asked, sounding rather nervous. 

“It’s an indoor swimming pool? To keep me cool on warm days?” Ed asked.

“Yes. Do you like it?” 

Ed turned to him with a smile and once again wrapped his arms around Ling’s waist. He spun his boyfriend around. When he put Ling down, he placed a soft kiss on Ling’s mouth and then lovingly pushed him into the pool.

Ling’s shriek and facial expression as he fell into the water was one of the funnier things Ed had heard that month. “I love it,” he told Ling, who had just resurfaced and was now treading water. Ling huffed.

“Well if you didn’t like it you could’ve just told me-” Ling started, only to be cut off by Ed.

“I’ll use it a lot. But I think, if this is for me I should get to decorate it, right? Do you think we could get some gargoyles?” Ed said, looking critically at the beautifully designed room. It wasn’t tacky enough for his tastes.

“No! No gargoyles! We agreed, when you moved here, that there would be no gargoyles. I allowed the stupid coat, but I will never have gargoyles in my palace,” Ling said with passion. Ed grumbled lightheartedly, moving closer to the pool. 

“How’s the water?” he asked, changing the topic as he knelt down to reach his hand into the pool to test the temperatures for himself. 

“It’s great,” Ling said, suddenly a lot closer than he had been before. Ed jerked his hand back too late, Ling had already pulled him into the water. Ed yelped, to Ling’s amusement, and splashed into the pool with no grace whatsoever. 

“Don’t you agree?” Ling asked Ed, who had flailed his way upright. Ed glared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. Ling followed him shortly, the two of them treading water and laughing in the pool Ling had built for Ed. 

“Thank you,” Ed said, “It’s great. I love it. I love you.”

Ling’s smile could light up the skies. “I’m glad, I worked so hard on the design for this place. I would have given up if it were for anyone else, but I love you too much to let you suffer the heat without relief.”

Ed pulled Ling in for a kiss. It was soft, but poorly executed as they were both trying to keep afloat. Nonetheless, it was perfect. Every kiss between them was perfect, because they loved each other. 

A few moments later, when Lan Fan checked in on them after they went quiet, she would see them kissing awkwardly, both sinking into the water and barely keeping their heads above water. She would use the camera Winry had given her to take a photo of the scene, quietly amused by it, but happy for Ling. 

Somehow Ling had managed to find himself the perfect boyfriend. And when Ed found out that a gift of this magnitude amounted to a proposal in Xingese custom, Lan Fan would be there, with her camera. Winry had asked for good pictures, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Ed: I'm suffering because of this heat and there aren't any places to swim in Xing  
> Ling: Here's an indoor pool kept cold specially for you  
> Ed: Al was right, you are my sugar daddy
> 
> I'm on tumblr at [saradathesalad](https://saradathesalad.tumblr.com)


End file.
